Origins of Quietism

The state of imperturbable serenity or
ataraxia was seen as a
desirable state of mind by Epicurus and the
Stoic
philosophers alike, and by their Roman
followers, such as the emperor Marcus
Aurelius. Quietism has been compared to the Buddhist doctrine
of Nirvana.
The possibility of achieving a sinless state and union with the
Christian
Godhead are denied by the Roman Catholic Church.

Among the "errors" condemned by the Council
of Vienne (1311-12) are the
propositions that humankind in the present life can attain such a
degree of perfection
as to become utterly sinless; that the "perfect" have no
need to fast or pray, but may freely grant the
body whatsoever it craves (a tacit reference to the Cathars or Albigenses
of southern France and Catalonia), and
that they are not subject to any human authority or bound by the
precepts of the Church. Similar assertions of individual autonomy
on the part of the Fraticelli led
to their condemnation by John
XXII in 1317. The same pope in
1329
proscribed among the errors of Meister
Eckhart the assertions that we are totally transformed into God
just as in the sacrament the bread is changed into the body of
Christ (see transubstantiation)
and the value of internal actions, which are wrought by the Godhead
abiding within us.

Quietism may have had some indirect effect on the
mysticism of the great
16th century Spaniards, Teresa of
Avila and John of
the Cross, but there were clearly other influences. It should
be made clear that both Teresa of
Avila and John of
the Cross were very active reformers and that both cautioned
against a simple-minded "don't think anything" (no pensar nada)
approach to meditation and contemplation; further, both remained
firmly committed to the authority of the Catholic Church.

Molinos and the doctrines of Quietism were
finally condemned by Pope
Innocent XI in the BullCoelestis
Pastor of 1687. A commission in
France found most of Madame Guyon’s works intolerable and the
government confined her, first in a convent, then in the Bastille. In 1699,
after Fénelon’s spirited defense in a press war with Bossuet, Pope
Innocent XII prohibited the circulation of Fénelon’s Maxims of the
Saints, to which Fénelon submitted at once. The inquisition's proceedings
against remaining Quietists in Italy lasted until the eighteenth
century.

Theology

Quietism states that man's highest perfection
consists of a self-annihilation, and subsequent absorption, of the
soul into the Divine,
even during the present life. In this way, the mind is withdrawn from worldly
interests to passively and constantly contemplate God. Quietists
would say that the Bible describes the man of God as a man of the
tent and the altar only, having no part or
interest in the multitudinous affairs, pursuits, and pleasures of
the world
system.

Whatever its theological implications, it is
undeniable that the personal autonomy implied by Quietism had an
undermining effect on Church unity, submission and
discipline.

This is seen as pejorative from an ecclesiastical
perspective, harking back to Montanism and other heresies and in
conflict with Catholic doctrines of the Mystical Body of Christ.
But from a post-ecclesiastical perspective that views religious
hierarchies as inherently suspect, this autonomy is seen as an
advance in human freedom.

The issue however, with Quietism is that with the
relational
understanding; Theologians claim it is heretical since it is
not Trinitarian,
with the view that God said that Adam was "lonely," and thus
created Eve. Thus God intended people to be in community.

Schopenhauer

The philosopher Schopenhauer
described Quietism as a form of denial of the will to live.
According to him, this resignation and selflessness constitutes the
last stage of intelligence and is the ultimate salvation or
deliverance from the sufferings of the world. It is the last stage
of intelligence because the mind comprehends the world, and
therefore itself, as a continuous urge, similar to human desire or
will, which results, as a consequence, in suffering and pain.
Quietists turn away from the world and from selfishness.